Apparatus for grinding and gauging objects such as nuts



S. D. MOXLEY July 15, 1952 APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND GAUGING OBJECTSSUCH AS NUTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 p INVENTOR Filed June 26, 1950 BY WWQ/YMWATTORNEYS S. D. MOXLEY July 15, 1952 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND GAUGING OBJECTS SUCH AS NUTS Filed June 26,1950 l 2 3. \WLI v I I I rU y 15, 1952 s. D. MOXLEY 2,603,042

APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND GAUGING OBJECTS SUCH AS NUTS Filed June 26,1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS July 15, 1952 s. D. MOXLEY 2,603,042

APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND GAUGING OBJECTS SUCH AS NUTS Filed June 26,1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 v I 101 1 I 'IIMHMH i 103 61 M VENTORI ATTORNEYSJuly 15, 1952 s, MOXLEY 2,603,042

APPARATUS FOR GRINDING AND GAUGING OBJECTS SUCH AS NUTS Filed June 26,1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 6 60' Q I mm 81 74 76 (l 7 i "f 6 jk66 l:@ 'Tq 81as 71 n -i 3 3 a5 1 I \90 2 1 6,3 9 94 I I q l I as aws! 70 200 1 91 96INVENTOR 101 "L g (/1Q5 7 i I 3 07 BY Patented July 15, 1952 UNITEDSTATS ENT OFFICE 2,603,042 KFPARATUS-FOR GRINDING AND GAUGING' OBJECTSsoon AS NUTS Stephen ;D. 1V.[foxl;ey, Birmingham, Ala, assignor mama, acorporation of Georgia Appiieatisn June 26, 1950, Serial No. ricer:

successive vvork stations; bnt it isto'beunderstood that the inventionis not restricted to this particular' application and that itcan be usedfor any other desired purposer In the manufacture" ofv variousarticl'es;it is often necessary to perform one or more: of anumberof differentoperations onthe surface of the article} 'sdch' as grinding,polishing-marking, machining, gauging and so on. Especially in the caseof sman metal objects produced in large quantities,- it is desirable toperform such operatio any machine" because manual handling of theobjects" is difiicult and the work is apt 'to' be inaccurate and itscost out of proportion to the rains or men-mares sine-1e: A typicalexample df silch 'roblem's" is 'fo'undin themanufacture of small castmetal objects such as-n'uts which for convenience will be referred tohereinafter for the-"purpose of illustrating-the invention. Aftercasting, various imperfections may exist such as rough spots, swells,-fins and projections at mold gates which must be remoi'red before thecast objectisfinished andready for the market; Nuts are normally-cast inthe'dra'g or bottom part ofthe mom,- a'nd i'rnperfe'ction's such asthose men'- tioned above seldom occur on theto'p or bottom facesoiithenutbu't do appear on its side faces; moreover, the" nuts are seldom castunders'ize. InasrnucH'as th'e dimension-between the side facesof thenut'i's standardized in' rela'tion' to Wrench sihesysuohimperfectionsand/ or any-substantial oter'sizingmust be removedi one (ifthe objects of the invention is to pro-' vide an improved apparatus forautomatically per-fern {ng' a desired Work" operation or operations'insuccession ondifferent peripheral port-ions of a work piece.

Another object is to provide improved apparatus of the above type'whichis siniple'and relaaveiy'inxpeiisive in construction, which'reduceslabor'costs; and-"w ich is reliable and foolproof as well asautoinat p vA further object is to provide improved appara-' tii's-o'f theabovety'p'e ior gri'nding cast articles to finished sizememesimproved-means are pro 15' cranes. (c1. 514081 2c vided forcontrolling and eiit grinding so as to produce the desired A stillfurther object is tqprovide; m'p a atu as c r te zed- :in he meal inwhich the size offthe :finished article matically gauged before itisdischarged fiofn the machine. I Another object-is to provide suchpara-tus in whichtrnearticle, still-0v e as through he, mach e i elllei-t in'the machine for another pass: k

mther obi-es i to p ovide estee type characterised above for-handlingarti polygonalconfiguration and irripr means for turning the article soas to prs I faces in succession at a series of Working stat c Anotherobject is to provide apparatus of the aboveitype for-handling articlesof -polygori'arconfiguration and having improved means operative at eachWorking station for advancin iithe article toward: the Workingtool-andfor lim ting the" advance of thearticleto a predeterminedi'position corresponding with the desired final siz'e': Otherobjects will:appear hereinafter aas theidescription of the inventionipro'ceedsr- Thegeneral organization of machines embody ihg the invention comprises aworktaible or ivalent support rotating preferably"continuously,

stations the number and sl'aacin or as thetools atthesn'ccessivetvork'sta 1 W r Station; a radially fiiovabie part" heholder is actnated by a h'ighipoififijf fli' means to advance the w r ig in which asection of;its;surface s engaged- 5y the appropriate-tool."As the. holder movesbevond the work station; the work advancing mem erleaves the high-point of the camand is retracted, this retraction beingutilized to rotatejthewere pieceinits-holder so asto-present a'difierent-sec-' 3 tion of its surface to the tool at the next workingstation.

The finished work piece is automatically discharged from the machine atthe discharge station. Where sizing operations are performed on thework, the work holder preferably includes gauging means which preventthe automatic discharge of an oversized or otherwise imperfect workpiece so that it remains in the holder and passes again through themachine unless removed manually by the operator.

It will be seen from the foregoing general description that it ispossible to employ only one work holder and to finish only one workpiece per revolution of the machine. However, in order to increase thecapacity and production of the machine, it will usually be desirable toemploy a number of work holders distributed conveniently around theperiphery of the table. In this case the location of the work stationsor the number and spacing of the work holders or both can be adjusted inany desired manner so that only one, or any appropriate number less thanall, of the tools is or are working at any one instant, thus reducingthe load on the machine and also vibration and wear and consequently thepower required to operate it.

The accompanying drawings show an embodiment of the invention designedto grind the surfaces of a hexagonal cast iron nut or like hexagonalobject, but it is to be expressly understood that said drawings are forpurposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as adefinition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to theappended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the complete machine;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the complete machine, partly in section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing the cam means and the relationthereof to the work table;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of a suitable grinding mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of the work holders;

- Fig. 7 is a side view of the work holder;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9--9 of Fig. 6; and Figs. 10-13illustrate different positions of the work holder mechanism, Fig. 13being a section on the line I3I3 of Fig. 11.

The machine is mounted on any suitable support here shown as comprisinga concrete base indicated generally at I in Fig. 2. A work table of anysuitable construction and material is rotatably mounted on the base I inany suitable manner and is driven at any appropriate speed by anysuitable means such as an electric motor and reduction gearing. In theform shown, an electric driving motor 2 is mounted on a support 3secured to the base I, the shaft 4 of the motor carrying a sheave 5driving a multiple V-belt 6 which in turn drives a sheave 1 on the endof a drive shaft 8 of a suitable reduction gear unit housed in a gearbox 9 that is mounted on the base I. The driven shaft I projects fromthe top of the gear box and rotates a work table II in any suitablemanner as by means of a cap I2 surrounding and suitably keyed to theupper end of the shaft, the table I I being secured to the cap piece inany suitable manner as by welding. In order to provide a bearing for theupper end of the shaft I0, a stub shaft I3 may be employed,

said stub shaft having an enlarged head I3a (Fig. 4) resting on the topof the shaft I0 inside the cap I2 and extending upwardly throughopenings in the cap I2 and table II into a stationary cap bearing I4provided with a suitable bushing I5 and bearing plate I6 and lubricatedby a pressure fitting II. The bearing cap I4 can be rigidly supported byany desired superstructure, here shown as comprising a frame formed ofangles I8 screwed or bolted to the bearing cap as indicated at I9 andhaving their ends supported by uprights I812.

The work table II may suitably comprise a substantially circular metalplate or disk secured to the cap I3 as described above and carries oneor more work holders as described hereinafter. Mounted above the worktabl is a non-rotating cam means preferably comprising a substantiallycircular metal plate or disk 20 secured to the cap bearing I4 in anysuitable manner as by means of bolts 2 I. The details of the cam meansare shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. In order to provide acontinuous track for the cam-actuated work holder mechanism hereinafterdescribed, the edge of the cam plate 23 is preferably flanged upwardlyat 22 between work stations, and at each work station the flange 22 iscut away and replaced by a cam member 23 providing a high point foractuation of said mechanism to be described, the edges of the cammembers 23 forming continuations of and connecting the sections of theflange 22. Preferably the cam elements 23 are yieldably mounted for apurpose to be described, and this is accomplished without interruptingthe continuity of th cam track by pivoting the leading end of each cammember to the cam plate 20 at 24 and by providing at its opposite end aslot 25 fitting over a pin 26 secured to the cam plate 20. Said camelements are normally maintained outwardly at the limit of pivotalmovement permitted by the slots 25 (Fig. 3) by suitable resilient meanssuch as compression springs 21 interposed between spring seats 28 and 29secured respectively to the cam elements 23 and to the cam plate 20, butare capable of swinging inwardly on their pivots 24 in case of a forcesufiicient to overcome the resistance of the springs 21.

In finishing hexagonal nuts, six work stations are provided each ofwhich comprises a grinding wheel adapted to engage and finish one faceof a nut as it is moved past the work stations in succession by therotating work table II. For convenience, the six grinding wheels thusrequired may be mounted and driven in pairs so that one grinding unitprovides two work stations. In the form shown, three such grinding unitsare mounted on box-like supports 30 secured to the base I, each unitcomprising a supporting base 3I which can be adjustably locked to thetop of the support 30 by suitabl means such as slots 32 in the baseplate and locking bolts 33 passing through the slots and secured to thesupport 33. Any suitable means such as adjusting screws 34 can beprovided for close adjustment of the position of each base 3| on itssupport 30.

Each unit comprises a driving motor 35 mounted on the base 3| anddriving a sheave 33 and a multiple V-belt 37 which in turn drives asheave or sleeve 38 carrying a pair of grinding wheels 33. The motor ispreferably adjustable relative to the base 3| by means of adjustingscrews 48 and is secured in adjusted position by bolts 4!. Fig. 5illustrates a suitable arrangespindle and supports one end of the sleevethereon, the outer bearing race being locked between an internalshoulder '41 of the sleeve and a suitable nut 48 threaded in the end ofthesleeve. The other end of the spindle carries a double ball bearing-49: serving to support the associated end of thesleeve and at the sametime to take axial thrust in both directions. The inner bear ing race islocked against a shoulder 50 of the spindle by means of a nut-'5!threaded on the outer end of 'the spindle, and'the outer bearing race islocked between aninternal shoulder 52" of the sleeve and a suitable nut53- threaded in the end of the sleeve.

The two grinding wheels39 are mounted on the sleeve 38 adjacent itsopposite ends for rotation therewith. In the form shown, each end of thesleeve is reduced in external diameter as shown at 54 toreceive thegrindingwheel which is held inposition by means of an inner clampingring 55 keyed at 56- to the spindle and outer clampingring 57- held inplace by a nut 58 screwed on the outer endof the sleeve. Each grindingwheel has its grinding face 59 dressed atsuch an angle that itissubstantially tangenttoa circle concentric with the work table llas'shown in Fig. l.

The peripheral margin of the work table carries one or more work holderswhich rotate with the table inapath between the cam means and thegrinding wheels described above. Preferably the work holders are placedclosely side by side as indicated generally at 60- in- Fig. 1,

twenty-nine such work holders being shown in The number of work holdersthat this figure. can be distributed conveniently around the peripheryof the work table-will of course vary, depending on the diameter of thetable and the size of the holders.

Each work holder comprises a base. assembly or: structure that. isrigidly secured to the table. and is provided with a.substantiallyradial guide:- way or track along. whichslidesaworkadvancing member actuated by the cam track 22, 23. ,In.

by means of a setscrew 66. threaded in a de-- pending lug El andengaging the peripheryof the table. Each work holder. also. comprises aradially movable work. advancing member 68 engaging. and operated bythe. cam track. 22, 23 to advance the work. at each. working station asthe, table. lll rotates... said. member 68. being. mounted, to slide, onthe base plate. 51!. between guides. 6.9; andlIO. secured to the.edges-of the base.

plate and.v extending over; the top, oijthe.. slide 68'. For camactuation; each'slide' member 68 carries at'its inner: end a stud Hhaving thereon.

a cam roller 12 which ismaihtained imengagezment with the cam track 22,23 by suitable resile ient' means such as a spring I3 extending She-1"tween apin 14 on theinnerendofthe slide 68 and a pin I5 on the innerend: of theabase. plate 61.

In the operation described herein by waynof. example, the work pieces.take the term of hex. agonal cast iron nuts- 1B provided with .apcena:

tral cavity 11" adapted be threaded after the exterior faces of. the nuthave: beenfinished. These nuts are placed. in the work holders" by handor by any suitable. feeding mechanism;

in advance of the slides 68.; which are-normally retracted by thesprings 13 (Figs. 6-8). When.

rotationof the table II. bringsa cam-roller 12- to orient the: working.stations,- however, it rides up the: surface. of one'ofj the camelements: and advances. its slide 682 to advance a work piece 16towardone of the grinding wheels 39. Suitable means-are provided forlimiting the advance of the-nut at a position where. the.- face: or the.nut will not be ground to less than, thedesi'red final sizeyandv alsofor positioning theniit so that one off its hexagonal faces. protrudesfrom the work holder (Fig. '11); into. ens" gagement with. the grindingwheel and substantially tangent to a circle concentric with the table Il. Preferably these positioning means comprise a pair of jaw members 18'and. 19

located. at the: outerend of the work holder and.

having their: jaw faces and 81 spacedto permit. one sided? of the nut toprotrude. slightly beyond. the work holder, said faces :being, disposedat angles-corresponding to the sides "of. the nut.

whichz'adjoin its protruding. side 82? sov that. the nut is wedgedbetween them to limit its radially, outward movement and to. hold itfirmly during the; grinding operation This wedging-effect is. assured byproportioningthe parts so thatathe cam-:members: 23- yielcl somewhatagainst their; pnsi'tioningsprings 2 1 as the cam rollers 12- pass;over. the high portions of. the cam members.-

After the workingface82 haspassed by a-grind ing: wheel as, the; camroller 12' rides down the: opposite side of the. cam element 23 andthe'work advancing. member 68. is: accordinglyretracted by its spring I3to the position shown in Figs. 6-8..

This-retraction isutilized' to rotate thenut in the project" the nextside of the nut'beyondi the jaws:

1-8, T9 Such rotation of the nut is'accomplished Jay-means carried bythe slide 68 and 'urged resilie'ntly' into engagement-with onesideof'the-nut in it's'advance position, said means being subsequently'retracted inwardly with the slide 68 and also moving transversely so asto-move' the sid'e of the nut inwardly and toward the opposite jawand'thus to retract the nut in the jaws. 18; '19 and to. turnthenut'betwe'en' them.

Asillustrated in Figs. 6-8, the aforesaid'com bined' inward andtransverse movements of the nut'retracting and turning meanscanb'e-provided" simply by pivoting a finger 83 on: the slide 68 andresiliently urging said finger to swing. on itspivot' insuch a.direction that its outer'end moves transversely into. engagement withtheside of the. nut. For example, thefinger 83' may be pivoted at 84between the top of the slide. 68 and aiplat'eflfi'that' isse'cured to afiller block 86 and carried thereby above and in' spaced: relation tothe. topof the slide:68". The.outwardlyprojectingendfofftheflne' ger 83"passes byone side of-the'nut asthe' slide a-eoaoea "moves outwardly at awork station, and swings around the pivot 84 into engagement with theside of the advanced nut by virtue of a compression spring 81 having oneend seated in a recess 88in the'filler block 86 and the other endfitting over a pin 89 on the inner end of the finger 83.

Suitable means are provided for preventing transverse movement of theforward end of the finger 83 until it has moved outwardly alongside thenut, and for subsequently returning the retracted finger to the properposition for advance at the next working station. As shown, the fingeris held in this position as the slide advances by a suitable latchmember 90 pivoted at 9| to the 'rear face of the filler block 86 andextending over the inner end of the finger 83, said member beingprovided with a depending catch 92 (Fig. 13) which normally holds thefinger 83 in a radial position. As the slide 68 moves outwardly,therefore, the outer end of the finger 83 is held to one side of the nut(Fig. 10) and the finger remains in this position as the slide continuesto advance and engages and advances the nut to the position shown inFig. 11. The outer end 94 of the latch meanwhile rides on the guide I0,and near the outer end of this guide it is lifted by an inclined campiece 95 (Fig. 7) to release the finger 83 which then is swung intoengagement with the side of the advanced nut (Fig. 11).

On subsequent retraction of the slide 68, the finger 83 bears first onthe corner of the nut as shown in Fig. II and by virtue of the combinedinward and pivotal movement of the finger, it tends to turn the nut in acounterclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 12. Preferably turning ofthe nut is facilitated by means of serrations 96 formed on the jaw face80 adjacent the corner of the nut and thus holding said corner as apivotal point about which the nut is turned. To limit the turning of thenut, the jaw face 80 extends inwardly beyond the serrations as indicatedat 91 to the apex 98 of a notch formed by its intersection with anangularly extending jaw face 99, the angle between the faces 91 and 99corresponding to the angle between adjoining sides of the nut and saidfaces 91, 99 being disposed so as to limit the turning of the nut to onesixth of a rotation. When this rotation has been completed, the nut isagain in the position shown in Fig. 6. The further retraction of theslide 68 causes the finger 83 to wipe past the turn-ed nut whiledepending catch 92 of latch member 90 rests on top of finger 83, and asthe slide reaches its innermost position the inner end of the finger 33engages a cam face I of the guide it and is swung back to its radialposition. The latch 90 then drops into a horizontal position anddepending catch 92 holds the finger in its radial position until it isacted upon by cam 95 during the next advance 0 the slide.

Thus when the nut has passed all six grinding wheels 39 and its sixfaces have all been ground, it is left nestling in the V-shaped notch91, 98, 99 ready for discharge from the machine. Preferably suitablemeans are provided so that the nut will be automatically discharged ifit has been properly finished, but will not be discharged in case it isstill oversized or still has imperfections projecting from any of itssiX sides. For this purpose the discharge of the nut is preferablyeffected through a hexagonally-shaped discharge opening IOI in thebottom of the base plate GI, this open-.

ing being gauged to pass only nuts having dimensions within the desiredfinal limits. During the travel of'the nut pastthe six working tations,

it is prevented from dropping throughthe discharge opening by a suitablesupport I02 located in said opening, but at the discharge station thesupport I02 is moved by suitable cam means so that properly finishednuts are discharged. For convenience, the support I02 is preferablycounterweighted to maintain it normally in the opening IOI as shown inFigs. 8 and 9, and to this end 4 the support is mounted on the arm I03of a lever pivoted at I04 in a lug I05 depending from the base plate 6|,another arm I 06 depending from the pivot axis and carrying acounterweight I0'I of sufficient size to counterbalance the weight ofthe support I02 and of the nut I6 thereon.

Thus the support I02 is maintained in the opening IOI until thedischarge station is reached and d scharge of unfinished nuts isprevented. At this station, however, a discharge cam I08 (Figs. 1 and 2)engages and lifts the counterweight I0'I, thereby lowering the supportI02 and discharging the finished nut through the opening provided it iswithin the limits of size and shape of the gauged opening. However, anim-- perfect nut that will not pass through the gauged opening remainsin the holder and may be removed at the loading station and discarded,or left in the holder for another pass through the machine.

Imperfections in nut castings, such as swells and projections resultingfrom breaking off the fins or gates, normally occur only in the upperone-third of the height of each nut as it is cast. It is thereforepreferable to limit the height of jaw members I8 and 19, as indicated inFigs. 7, 8 and 9, to only about half the height of the nuts 76 so that,when the nuts are placed in the holders, the imperfections are above thejaws and thus do not contact the jaw faces 80 and M which determine thepositions of the nuts during the grinding operations. In the event thata nut may have an imperfection extending throughout the height of one ofits side faces, uniform positioning of the nut at the successivegrinding stations may be achieved by so placing the nut in the holder atthe loading station that the imperfect side face is presented to thefirst grinding wheel. In those infrequent cases where full lengthimperfections occur on more than one face, the nut will not be properlyground in one cycle of the machine, and may be either removedanddiscarded manually by the operator at the loading station or left inthe machine for another cycle.

It will be seen that the operation of the machine is completelyautomatic, it being necessary only to drop the nuts one by one into themoving holders at the loading point which can be done manually or bymeans of any suitable feeding device. Thereafter the sides of the nutare auto-. matically presented in succession to the tools at. thesuccessive work stations, the advance of the nut toward the tool beingpositively and accurately limited so as to prevent overgrinding. Allmanual handl ng of the nuts during the actual work operations iseliminated, with the resultant advantages of decreased labor costs,reduction of hazard to personnel, and increased production.

The machine itself is simple and relatively inexpensive in constructionand reliable and foolproof in operation. Complicated and delicate workon tool feeding mechanisms and work rotating mechanisms is replaced by asimple cam.- actuated slide carrying a resiliently-urged finger andcooperating with a pair of fixed jaws, and

there is little if any need for adjustment, repair or replacement ofparts. However, any one or' more of the work holders can be removed ifnecessary .without in any way interfering with the operation of theremaining units or of the machine as a whole.

As; previously stated, the maximum number of work holders will varydepending on the diameter of the table and the size of the work, but anydesired lesser number of work holders can bev employed. In the case'ofobjects having fiat sides, the diameter of the table should preferablybe large in relation to the size of the work pieces so that thefinishedsides will not be rounded to an objectionable extent, so that themaximum number of holders that can he used will be correspondinglylarge. Preferably the angular spacing between the work stations shouldnotbe a. multiple of the angular spacing between the work holders, sothat not all the tools are working at the same time, thus reducing thework loadon the driving motor and vibration and wear of the machine. Byadjusting these relative angular spacings and the location of the workstations, wide variations in the timing and sequence of operations atthe successive work stations are obviously possible. In the embodimentparticularly described above, advantage has been taken of. thisflexibility of arrangement to mount pairs of grinding stones on commonshafts each with a single driving motor. It will be seen in Fig. 1 thatthe center lines of the three grinding units are not 90 apart but eitherslightly more or slightly less, and that only one stone of each unit isin operation at any instant so that the work load on the driving motorof each grinder unit is never more than that of one stone. Various otherarrangements can be devised by those skilled in the art to meet theconditions existing in each case.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been described andillustrated in the drawings, it will be understood that the invention isnot restricted to this embodiment but is susceptible of a variety ofmechanical expr ssions, and that various changes can be made in theform, details of construction, and arrangement of the parts withoutdeparture from the spirit of the invention. Reference should thereforebe had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus of the class described comprising a rotatable worksupport for successively presenting different surfaces of work pieces tothe action of a plurality of tools located at work stations spacedcircumferentially around said support, the combination withsaid worksupport of a plurality of work holders mounted on and distributed aroundthe periphery of said support each including a radially movableworkadvancing member for moving a work piece from a non-workableposition within said holder to an advanced position wherein one surfaceof the work piece is workable by the tools at said work stations. meansfor moving said work-advancing members radially outwardly to advance thework pieces at each work station and for retracting said work-advancingmembers between successive workstations including a plurality of camelement's equalin number to said stations disposed about the axis ofsaid support in relatively fixed positions corresponding to those ofsaid work stations and cooperating cam follower elements mounted on saidwork-advancing members, each of said work holders comprising means forholding the work iece against turning While it is in the advancedposition and means actuated. by retraction of said work-advancingm-er'n-' her for turning the work piece in its holder, whereby differentsurfaces of the work piece are presented to the tools at successive workstations. 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, each of said work holdersincluding means for limiting the advance of the work piece by saidworkadvancing member to a predetermined position and each of said camelements being vyieldably mounted so as to absorb forces tending toproduce outwardmovement of said members which may be exerted after thework pieces have-been advanced to said predetermined positions;

3. Apparatus as defined in claim Z-compr-ising cam means extendingbetween adjacent- -cam elements and forming therewith a continuous' caintrack around the axis of rotation of said support, each of said camelements being pivotally mounted adjacent one end and including yieldable means urging its other end .outwardly and normally maintaining itin'position in said track.

4. In apparatus of the class described comprising a work support movablein a h-orizontalplane for successively presenting different surfacesofwork pieces to the action of a plurality of: tools located at workstations spaced along the path of movement of said support, thecombination with said work support of a plurality ofwork holders mountedon and movable with saidrs ipport each including ahorizontallyreciproc'able work-advancing member-for moving awork' piecefrom a non-workable position within said holder to an advanced positionwherein one surface. of

the work piece is workable by'the tools atsaid work stations, means formoving; said workadvancing members in one direction to advance the workpieces at each work station and. for retracting said members in theopposite'direcjtion between successive work stations, each-:of saidholders comprising means for holding the Work piece against turningwhile it is in the advanced position, means actuated by retraction ofsaid work-advancing member for turning the work piece in its holder soas to present different surfaces to the tools at successive workstations, a discharge opening in the bottom of said holder of such sizeand shape as'to pass a finishedwork piece and a work piece supportnormally closing said opening, and means at a discharge station formoving said work piece support away-,from said opening. and permitting afinished-work piece to discharge from its holder by gravity through-saidopening. f Y

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, saidmeans at the discharge stationcomprising a carne'n gaging and moving said work piece support-w J 6.Apparatus as defined in claim 5, said work piece support beingpivotallymounted on said work holder and having a depending arm 'operated by saidcam at the discharge station. 1 7. Apparatus as defined inclaim 6, said de pending arm including a weight normally main tainingsaid work piece support in position to I close said opening and adaptedtoengage said cam at the discharge station. 'j

8. In apparatus of the class describedthe combination with-arotatable-work table forisuc cessively presenting different surfaces ofwork pieces to the action of a plurality of tools located at workstations spaced around the circumference of said table of non-rotatablecam means located within the periphery of'the table and having aplurality of high points one corresponding to each work station, a workholder secured to the periphery of said table and having a radiallyreciprocable work-advancing member engaging and operated by said cammeans for moving a work piece from a non-workable position within saidholder to an advanced position wherein one surface of the work piece isworkable by the tool at each work station, said holder having means forlimiting the radially outward movement therein of the work pieceadvanced by said member at each work station and for holding said workpiece against turning while it is in the advanced position, a work piecerotating element mounted on said work-advancing member for movementradially therewith and transversely thereto, and means for moving saidelement transversely into engagement with the side of the work pieceduring the outward movement of said member and maintaining saidengagement during a portion of the subsequent retraction of said memberto turn said work piece in said holder as said member moves inwardly.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, said element being pivotally mountedon said member, and resilient means carried by said member for swingingsaid element about its pivot transversely to the movement of said memberand into engagement with said work piece.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, including latch means on saidmember for holding said element against swinging movement in onedirection under the influence of said resilient means, means on saidholder engaging and releasing said latch means during the outwardmovement of said member, and means on said holder engaging and swingingsaid element in the opposite direction as said member is retracted tore-set said latch means.

11. In apparatus oi. the class described for handling work pieces ofpolygonal shape, the

combination with a rotatable work table for successively presentingdifferent sides of said work pieces to the action of a plurality oftools located at work stations spaced around the circumference of saidtable of non-rotatable cam means located within the periphery of thetable and having a plurality of high points one corresponding to eachWork station, a work holder secured to the periphery of said table andhaving a radially reciprocable work-advancing member engaging andoperated by said cam means for moving a work piece from a non-workableposition within said holder to an advanced position wherein one side ofthe work piece is workable by the tools at said work stations, saidholder having jaws spaced to permit one side of the advanced polygonalwork piece to project outwardly therebetween for engagement with thetools at said work stations and having jaw faces disposed at anglescorresponding to the sides of said work piece which adjoin said oneside, said jaw faces being adapted to limit the advance of the workpiece toward said tools to a predetermined position during the outwardmovement of said work-advancing member, and means carried by said holderfor turning said work piece therein during the inward movement of saidmember.

12. In apparatus of the class described for handling work pieces ofpolygonal shape, the

l2 combination with a rotatable work table for successively presentingdifferent sides of said work pieces to the action of a plurality oftools located at work stations spaced around the circumference of saidtable of cam means located at circumferentially fixed positions withinthe periphery of the table and having a plurality of high points onecorresponding to each work station. a work holder secured to theperiphery of said table and having a radially reciprocable workadvancingmember engaging and operated by said cam means for moving a work piecefrom a non-workable position within said holder to an advanced positionwherein one side of the work piece is workable by the tools at said workstations, said holder having a pair of jaws spaced to permit one side ofthe advanced polygonal work piece to project outwardly therebetween forengagement with the tools at said work stations and having jaw facesdisposed at angles corresponding to the sides of said work piece whichadjoin said one side, the face of one jaw extending inwardly beyond theposition of the end of the adjacent side of the advanced work piece,work piece rotating means carried by said workadvancing member formovement radially therewith, and means for moving said work piecerotating means relatively to said work-advancing member into engagementwith the side of the advanced work piece adjacent the other jaw and formaintaining said engagement during the inward movement of saidWork-advancing member so as to turn the work piece against said extendedjaw face.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 12, said extended jaw face havingserrations adapted to engage and hold one corner of the work piece asthe work piece is turned about said corner by said work piece rotatingmeans.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 12, said inwardly extending jaw faceterminating in a V-shaped notch having an angle corresponding to theangle between adjoining sides of said work piece.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, said work holder having adischarge opening in the bottom thereof of polygonal shape and sizecorresponding to a finished work piece, two adjoining sides of saidopening being aligned with the faces of said notch.

STEPHEN D. MOXLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 570,367 Beers Oct. 27, 1896839,740 Embler Dec. 25, 1906 1,205,696 Beck Nov. 21, 1916 1,389,308Jones Aug. 30, 1921 1,408,916 Wilcox Mar. '7, 1922 2,396,941 CorriganMar. 19, 1946 2,546,504 Head Mar. 2'7, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 536,774 Germany Oct. 19, 1931

